The top 5 things to do when you’re ready for a relationship

Before we begin, this is not a guide to finding a man and keeping him, nor will it prescribe ridiculous dating rules that belong in a Jane Austen book, nor does it mean to be happy you have to have a partner.

This is for successful, independent women who feel ready for a relationship with someone awesome; someone who is their best friend and equal, and how to put yourself in the best possible position to fall in love with the right person.

Here, Selina Barker - the co-founder of Love Project Love, which offers workshops, courses and coaching sessions to brilliant single women who feel stuck in love - gives five ways to find a great relationship when you decide you want one.

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1. Start by dating yourself

When you're looking for love on the outside, it is essential that you have learnt to love yourself first. Like attracts like, so if you treat yourself with love, respect and kindness then you're going to attract people who also want to treat you with love, respect and kindness. But if you have a tendency to be hard on yourself, neglect your needs and criticise yourself then you're going to attract and pick people who will do that to you too. So get really good at looking after yourself and loving who you are, treat yourself to simple pleasures on a daily basis and take yourself on dates.

2. Get clear on what you want

It's always good to know what you're looking for when you get out there and start dating, but don't fall into the trap of creating such a strong image in your head of your dream partner that no one in reality can compete with them. If you have a shopping list of what you want your date to look like, be like, do for a living etc then now is the time to rip it up. Instead, focus on how you want to FEEL when you're in a relationship and do things that help you to connect with that feeling. Then see who turns up in that space.

3. Turn on your green light

When you're ready to meet someone new, you need to open yourself up and let the world know that you are ready and available for a loving relationship. And the way we communicate with those around us is primarily through our body language, so make sure your body language is welcoming the world in rather than telling it to keep away: slow down as you walk, relax your body, take your headphones out of your ears, hold your head up and smile at the world. Then see who smiles back.

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4. Explore and experiment with different ways to meet people

There are so many different ways that you could end up meeting the right person for you. You might meet them online, by swiping right, through friends that set you up on a date or maybe out doing something fun where you get to meet people. So try it all: sign up to a dating site or app, tell your friends that you want to be set up on dates and get out and do fun things that have you meeting people at the same time.

5. Be open to being surprised

And finally, make no assumptions about the kind of person you'll end up with or how you're going to meet them…be open to being surprised. We have found that the more women we speak to who are in happy relationships, the more we hear that they have ended up with someone they never would have imagined would have been their kind of guy and they never could have guessed when it was going to happen. So it could be just around the corner, but remember, love can't be rushed. The good ones really are worth waiting for.

Love Project Love is, for five days only, offering a £20 discount on its Get Ready For Love online course, making it £49 instead of £69. Use the discount code is 'glamourlove' to claim your reduction at Projectlove.com/get-ready-for-love/.